(WSVN) - Valentine’s Day is upon us. Time to show your significant other how much you care about them. But what if you don’t have a date, turn to a matchmaking service, and they fail to find you one? Do you get your money back? It’s why one woman called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.
Valentine’s Day.
Flowers. Dinner. Romance. Unless you are single and looking.
Michelle Clayton, looking for Mr. Right: “I’ve tried Plenty of Fish, Tinder, trying to get set up through friends. Nothing works anymore.”
Michelle is not attached and has become a little cynical about the dating scene.
Michelle Clayton: “People are liars. People are manipulators, and when you are trying to look for love, that is not what you want, obviously.”
Michelle, on the other hand, is looking for the right guy and has tried clever ways to find that special person.
Michelle Clayton: “CVS trying to hit someone with my grocery cart, strike up a conversation, but unfortunately, none of that has worked.”
So last summer, she decided to hire a professional to help and contacted a matchmaking service.
Michelle Clayton: “I went in for the meeting, took about 2 hours to go through the whole process. She told me that, ‘I’m a great catch,’ that I would be a ‘great wife,’ that she could ‘see me as a mother.'”
Michelle knew all that, but what sold her was the promise of meeting a guy who was looking for someone like her.
Michelle Clayton: “And she promised me three potential matches. Three potential introductions, they called it, and I should be getting set up with the first one within six to eight weeks.”
That day in July, Michelle paid the $500 matchmaking fee.
She waited six weeks. No dates.
Eight weeks. No calls.
Michelle Clayton: “Pretty much kept telling me, ‘Keep your head up. Stay hopeful.'”
After 20 weeks, Michelle lost all hope of a call or text from a date.
Michelle Clayton: “I want my money back! She would have somebody call me. Well, the next week went without a phone call, email – nothing.”
Nothing, and as Valentine’s Day rolls around … no date … just disappointment.
Michelle Clayton: “I want the dream that she sold me.”
Howard, not only did Michelle not find Mr. Right, she didn’t get a call from a single date. Legally, where does she stand?
Howard Finkelstein, 7 News Legal Expert: “You cannot get your money back if you don’t like your dates, and Michelle’s contract doesn’t guarantee a certain number of dates in a specific time frame, either. But here is the key, if the salesperson knew that what they told Michelle was not accurate to get her to sign the contract, the law calls that ‘Fraud in the Inducement,’ and it allows you to get out of the contract and get your money back.”
We contacted the matchmaking company.
They told us they had sent Michelle a check. A few days later, she told us she got her $500 back.
Howard Finkelstein: “No matter what kind of contract you sign, if what the salesperson tells you is important to you, make sure it’s written into the contract. If they won’t do that, don’t sign it.”
Michelle may not have a Valentine this year, but who knows about tomorrow?
Michelle Clayton: “I still try to remain hopeful that Mr. Right is out there somewhere that is my perfect match. Find me. I’m around.”
If Michelle intrigues you, email us. We will forward it to her. An introduction that’s free.
By the way, before you sign a contract with any company, go online and check them out. You might find something that makes you say, “Wait a minute,” and if you can’t figure out how to research them, ask a friend for help.
Met your match fighting a problem? No longer have the heart to fight them? Reach out to us, and we will light a candle under them.
CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.